The Powerful Ones
by LuccaAshtear
Summary: This story is about the children of the X-Men, how they come together, and how, in the process, history repeats itself... (Rated PG-13, for violence and language) Chapter 6 is up!
1. Prologue

This is a Superhero saga that is based on a 60-page story that I have been working on for quite some time. It is about the children of the X-Men, so in the later chapters there is no action with the original group. Please, oh please Read and Review!!! I'm a newbie and this is my first Fan Fiction story, so I need all the help I can get!  
  
(Also: I do not own the original X-Men, who make a whole lot of cameos in the first chapter and a few in some of the later chapters.)  
  
Plus, the X-Men in the first chapter aren't the famous ones, but I think any readers who are hardcore X-Men fans will be pleasantly surprised.  
  
The Powerful Ones  
  
Chapter 1:  
  
July 18, 1995  
  
The autumn rain came down suddenly. There had been no drought, no dry season, and all the grass was green and healthy, before the rains came. Sean Cassidy sat by the window of the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters and pondered over the strange weather. He couldn't think of a logical, nature-related explanation for it, except for a theory that his old friend Ororo Munroe was at work. Then again, now that Sean thought about it, Ororo had always been a very logical woman. She would never create a rainstorm if there weren't a need for it.  
  
"Poor Ororo," Sean whispered, his thick Irish accent ringing through the room. He was still staring out the window with a nostalgic expression on his face. "I wonder how she's doin' . . ."  
  
A knock on his bedroom door interrupted him from his reflections.  
  
"Mista Cassidy?" said a loud male voice from the hallway. "May ah come in?"  
  
Sean smiled. That was probably another student who had been dared to come into Sean's room by his classmates. Sean was fine with that. He hadn't had a proper visitor in a long time.  
  
"Sure," he replied.  
  
The door slowly creaked open, to reveal a boy of about twelve, who was wearing a white t-shirt with a jagged "X" sewn roughly onto the front. He came in quickly, practically slamming the door behind him.  
  
"Ah," said Sean. "Sam Guthrie. What kin I do for ye?"  
  
Sam ran his hands through his stringy blonde hair.  
  
"Suh?" he said quietly. "There's a "Jason Wyngarde" who wants to see you, suh . . . . Says it's a private matter . . ."  
  
Sean jumped up. Jason Wyngarde? He thought. Mastermind?? Why in the hell is 'e here? Boyo, when I'm finished with 'im, e'll wish e'd never messed with Sean Cassidy!  
  
"Sam," Sean ordered the boy. "Get me Mrs. Dane and Mr. Summers on th' double! Tell 'em I need backup!"  
  
And with that, Sean ran out the door and slammed it with a bang. He sprinted down the hallway, narrowly missing a group of students. When he got to the large stairway that led to the entrance hall he slid on his rear end down the handrail, causing stares from many students on the ground floor. There in the entrance hall were two of his best friends, Lorna Dane- Summers and Alex Summers, to greet him, or more or less criticize him.  
  
"Sean, I was in the middle of a class!" Lorna complained.  
  
"What's so urgent that you need backup on a day like this?" said Alex angrily.  
  
Sean shushed them. "Jason Wyngarde is at the door!" he hissed.  
  
That pretty much spoke for itself.  
  
"Oh my Lord . . ." gasped Lorna, fiddling nervously with her long green hair. "Don't worry, I'll get it."  
  
She ran to the door, and opened it cautiously. There, on the steps, stood a hook-nosed man with thick gray sideburns and a dark brown trench coat.  
  
"Hello, Polaris," the man said, with a smile. "May I come in?"  
  
Lorna froze.  
  
"Mastermind . . . It really is you . . ." she whispered.  
  
Alex was by her side immediately.  
  
"What in the hell are you doing here?" he demanded.  
  
"What am I doing here?" said Mastermind, smiling evilly. "I'm standing here at the door, waiting for you to let me in, that's what I'm doing here,"  
  
"C-Come on in." Lorna stuttered, as she and Alex got out of his way. Wyngarde walked calmly into the room, looked around the entrance hall, as if to get the feel for his surroundings, then cracked his knuckles.  
  
"What did you really come here for, Mastermind?" asked Lorna, who had finally regained her calm composure. "There must have been more of a reason than admiring the architecture of our new entrance hall."  
  
Mastermind laughed.  
  
"That is a good reason, I must say," he admitted, shrugging carelessly. "But the real reason is to settle a few personal scores with you, the original X-Men. It's too bad only three of you are still - capable - of fighting me."  
  
Sean walked a few steps towards Mastermind. Somethin's wrong here, he thought. Mastermind never acted like this when I fought against him. He was never this brash, this in-ye'r-face. I guess 'e's changed over the years . . .  
  
Sean glanced at the other two teachers, and pointed to his left and right. The three of them quickly spread out in a triangular formation, surrounding Mastermind. By now, a large group of students had gathered themselves in the branching corridors, packed together, trying to see what their teachers were up to. Alex turned to look at them.  
  
"Get back to your classes, students!" he ordered, as he charged up a ball of cosmic energy. Why on earth are those kids in here? He thought. Didn't Sam Guthrie tell them to carry on with their business as if nothing is happening?  
  
"But - but Mr. Summers -" stuttered a girl with short black hair, who Alex remembered was nicknamed Jubilee. "I have your class next!"  
  
Alex paused. The ball of energy he was forming was now as big as a melon.  
  
"Just get out of this room now, before you get hurt!" he ordered again. "This is for your own safety."  
  
The students ran off, panicking, like fish when a shark is nearby. One student stayed behind, a girl with long red-blonde hair who looked just like Sean. Her name was Theresa Rourke, but she was known as Siryn.  
  
"Can I help at all, Da?" she asked, with a strong Irish accent.  
  
Sean thought for a moment, as Alex tossed his cosmic energy ball at Mastermind, who ducked, causing the ball to explode in a corner of the room, melting a large china vase.  
  
"How's this, love?" Sean said to his daughter. "Call the police, and tell 'em Mastermind's back in town!"  
  
Siryn ran off, dodging a beam of cosmic energy that was meant to have hit Mastermind, but apparently missed.  
  
"I'm about ready to fight, then, how about you?" said Sean, grinning, to Mastermind. Then he opened his mouth and screamed.  
  
His scream was shrill, haunting, terrifying even, just like his mythological namesake, the Banshee. As Sean screamed, you could literally see sonic waves shoot out of his mouth and beat against Mastermind's head, and he doubled over, covering his ears, gripping at his wispy gray hair. Then his head shot up, and he pointed his hand at Sean. Five walls of stone fashioned themselves around him, trapping him in what seemed to be a stone box. Alex wasn't worried. Mastermind created illusions, and illusions couldn't harm anyone. He was even surprised that Mastermind had come alone, considering his weak physical form and lack of any harmful powers made him the weakest of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.  
  
Why isn't Sean out of there yet? Thought Alex, as he fired cosmic rays out of his arms at Mastermind. Since that box is an illusion, he should have just walked out. What's going on here?  
  
Then Alex heard a muffled shriek from inside the box, and the top wall of the box shattered, like a pane of glass. Sean jumped out, ran at Mastermind, and punched him in the jaw.  
  
"Be careful, everyone!" He shouted at Lorna and Alex. "His illusions - They're real now! I couldn't walk through those walls!"  
  
Lorna was confused. How could his illusions become reality? That wasn't at all possible. His powers couldn't have evolved since she last saw him . . . could they?  
  
Lorna didn't let her confusion show, however. She concentrated hard on Mastermind's belt buckle, and with magnetic energy, lifted him up and slammed him hard against the ground.  
  
"Thanks for the warning, Banshee!" she shouted, letting herself get into the fighting mood. "We have to be wary now, Havok. He's more dangerous than we thought!"  
  
Alex nodded, as he ran into the melee that Sean and Wyngarde had started and split them up with a well-placed cosmic beam. He didn't want to kill Wyngarde, just knock him out, so Alex could take him to the Salem Center Mutant Prison. Like his brother Scott, Alex didn't believe in killing.  
  
Sean screamed at Mastermind, knocking him to the floor. Mastermind looked up at Sean, grinned at him, opened his hand, and caused a small dagger to appear in it. He gripped the dagger tightly, stood up, ran to Sean, and, just as Sean thought his life was about to end, Mastermind fell to the floor, pressing his free hand onto his head, and murmured, "Mesmero . . . he . . . he's controlling me . . . Kill me now, while you still can . . ."  
  
Sean squatted down, and flipped Mastermind over. Sean looked into his eyes, and for a minute, Sean saw the Jason Wyngarde he knew, the weak, vulnerable old man that relied on his friends in the Brotherhood for protection. Then, that Wyngarde was gone, leaving the arrogant, brash Wyngarde smiling at him as Sean felt the blade sink into his stomach. He felt the intense pain for only a second, and then he felt no more. He dropped to the ground, unconscious.  
  
"Sean!" Lorna cried out, reaching helplessly to her friend.  
  
Mastermind got to his feet, and smiled.  
  
"It's too late now, Polaris," he said. "Your friend, the Banshee, won't be around much longer. In a few hours, the wound I just gave him will prove fatal."  
  
A deep growl rose from Alex's throat.  
  
"You demon!!!" He screamed. "You'll regret hurting Sean when I'm done with you!"  
  
Alex then gave a great cry, and fired a cosmic ray at him, a cosmic ray so powerful that Lorna could feel its power from all the way across the room. It hit Mastermind's chest with full force, and he flew six feet backwards, running right into a small table by the front door. Alex panted heavily, then ran to Sean's body to see just how bad his wounds were. Lorna went to Mastermind to talk to him. He was lying in a heap, too weak to move.  
  
"Po. . . Polaris . . ." He rasped. "Come . . . here . . . I have . . something to . . tell you . . ."  
  
Lorna kneeled down beside him, curious as to what he wanted, but not afraid.  
  
"Polaris . . ." He continued, looking at her with sad, gray eyes. "Mesmero. . had me in . . his grasp . . ."  
  
Something, deep down in Lorna's soul, told her that Mastermind was telling the truth.  
  
"Tell me more, Jason," she said warmly.  
  
"Magneto . . has Mesmero . . working for him . . and they got . . they got me to attack . . you all . . when I have . . . nothing against you . . personally . . Since I . . made peace with my grudges . . long ago . ."  
  
Lorna couldn't think of anything to say.  
  
"My . . son . ." Mastermind pointed a weak hand towards the front door. "Alan . . Wyngarde . . He's in . . my car . . ." He dug a shaking hand into his pocked and gave Lorna a set of keys. "Take care . . of him . . for me . . ." Mastermind gave her one last look with his sorrowful eyes, picked up the dagger, and stabbed it into his chest. Lorna gasped, and jumped to her feet.  
  
"Alex!" She cried. "Alex, come here!"  
  
Alex came running, and skidded to a halt next to Mastermind's body. The first thing he saw was Mastermind's dagger stuck in his chest. "Oh, God." He whispered. "Lorna, did you -"  
  
"- No." Lorna shook her head. "He did it."  
  
Alex said nothing, and Lorna walked to the front door. Sure enough, there was the car, parked right in front of the school. She also saw a young boy of about six staring at her through the window. As soon as the boy saw that Lorna was looking at him, his eyes widened and he disappeared from sight. Lorna jumped, noticing that she had seen tears in the boy's eyes. Could he have seen his father kill . . ?  
  
"Alan Wyngarde . . ." she murmured. "The poor boy . ." Then she noticed Alex standing next to her.  
  
"Mastermind's got a son?" he asked Lorna.  
  
Lorna nodded, as she led Alex back inside, to where Sean was being examined by the school medics.  
  
"Huh." Alex raised his eyebrows. "He's got quite a life ahead of him, doesn't he?"  
  
Lorna hugged her husband close to her. "Yes he does," she replied, looking into his . "Quite a life." 


	2. Alan and Nuria

Hey, y'all, here's chapter 2, finally! Thank you so much for the reviews! I will always remember the first review I got, the first review I ever got in my entire life, was from NoInkInMyPen, and it made my heart pound, my cheeks turn red, and I grinned broadly without meaning to!!! Now I know what the warm fuzzy feeling is like! ^_^ So, here are some messages to a few of my previous reviewers.  
  
Chris Bannex: Thanks for the tips ^_^ and I'm really glad you like it! Crono101: Thank you so much for your tips and compliments! You are so cool! Dayspring Daughter: Thank you for the compliment! The only X-Men comics I have read are the big Zero Tolerance book and thirty-four of them from the late 80's that were my dad's. All of the characters I put in to the prologue are my favorites from the ones I've read that I felt didn't get enough attention!  
  
To all you people who were confused about my prologue, the X-Men of that era are never involved that much from hereon in. (I hate to disappoint you, but the main characters in my story were thought up by ME, although their parents belong to Marvel. Well, I invented a bunch of the original X-Men's spouses, too.) And may I also remind everyone that the universe in this story is a bit different than it is in real life, so if I get New York City wrong, keep in mind that it is basically a made-up city that shares its name and its location with a real one. (This is because I like the freedom!)  
  
So, finally, on with the story:  
  
Chapter 2  
  
February 27, 2006  
  
The hard, heavy snow of late winter was falling steadily throughout the city, covering everything in its stiff, white blanket. It was four o'clock in the afternoon, and the dull, gray roads were crowded full of cars, teenagers driving home from school. Not many people were outside, in the biting cold, only a handful of middle-aged men shoveling the icy snow off of the sidewalks. The alleys, however, were empty. Except for one girl, in her mid-teens, who was standing, shivering, next to a trash can. She was tall and slim, and her brightly colored clothes caused her to stand out in the sea of gray that was the streets of New York City. Her oversized purple jacket and tight-fitting blue jeans were soaking wet from the falling snow, and her flame red hair was hanging over her eyes, but she didn't seem to care.  
  
She tossed her hair, as if to get it out of her eyes, and stared impatiently around the corner. She had been waiting a half an hour already, and she was freezing cold. Of course, she thought. He is always late, so I guess it makes sense. She sighed. I still don't like it, though.  
  
Then she heard a voice from the other side of the alley.  
  
"Hey, Nuria! Where are you?"  
  
And there he is now. Nuria stomped out of the snow pile she was standing in, and saw him standing at the opposite alley entrance. His black hooded sweatshirt was soaked through, and his white-blonde hair was so unkempt, it completely covered his right eye. He was a year younger than Nuria, only just turned sixteen, but looked like a senior in high school.  
  
"ALAN!" Nuria called angrily, running over to him. "You're forty minutes late! Where in the hell were you?"  
  
Alan stuck his hands in his sweatshirt pockets and looked away. "Who cares?" He muttered. "I was late, that's all that matters."  
  
Nuria gritted her teeth, and made a huffy noise. She really hated how rude and secretive Alan was, but she had to forgive him for it. He was her stepbrother, after all.  
  
She remembered when she met him for the first time, seven years ago, at Xavier's School for the Gifted. The medics gathered nervously around the front doorway, had told her that Nuria's stepfather, Alan's biological father, had had a heart attack when he was talking to the headmasters. She had felt sorry for Alan, and in ways, she still did. Nuria doubted his personality had changed a bit since then.  
  
"Geez," Nuria glared at Alan, stuffing her hands into her jacket pockets, causing her resemblance to her stepbrother to become even stronger. "Mom's going to be furious . ."  
  
"Yeah, I know," Alan said, leading Nuria out of the alley. "I'll tell her that I was late."  
  
Nuria perked up. "You'll tell her the truth?"  
  
Alan grinned. "Yeah," he said. "I'm going easy on you today."  
  
Nuria grinned back. "I can see that."  
  
The two half-siblings laughed, as they walked out of the gray, desolate alley, and into Main Street.  
  
Main Street was like a whole other country, compared to the rest of New York City. While all the other streets were small, dark, and unpleasant to the eye, Main Street was tall, colorful, and startlingly bright. The neon lights flared like suns, and brightly colored advertisements blinked atop skyscrapers, giving the city an aura of cheerfulness to those visiting, when in truth, Main Street was the only part worth seeing, because the rest of the city was gray, grungy and claustrophobic. Nuria loved to look at Main Street, with its bright lights, and she especially loved how it seemed to be warmer than the rest of the city. That was how Nuria was; she loved anything hot and bright. She savored the sight of Main Street every time she passed by. Streets like these were the places that she dreamed of living in when she got out of high school.  
  
"What are we doing here?" Nuria asked. "This isn't the way to our house . . ."  
  
Alan raised an eyebrow. "You said you were cold."  
  
"Yeah, and . . ?"  
  
Alan pointed to a small, dirty, graffiti-ridden building in front of them. "Look over there."  
  
Yeah, that's the bar that my dad works in. Why would Alan want to go in there?  
  
"I see," She said, still sounding confused. "But are you sure we should go in? It's not exactly known for its well-behaved customers. I heard that a guy got killed in there a few years ago . . ."  
  
"Well, I need to talk to John for a little bit," Alan said, grabbing Nuria's arm. Then he grinned, and forced a laugh. "Plus, it's got the best Pi(a Coladas in New York, so isn't that reason enough to go?"  
  
And with that, Alan dragged his sister across the street and through the brightly spray-painted door to the Ace of Spades Bar and Poker House.  
  
(Author's note: Sorry this is so short! I was really busy and had no time! By the way, all of the children's names have hidden meanings. Alan means "Handsome" and Nuria means "God's Fire", and I'll tell you the rest later. I'm sorry the original X-Men aren't involved more!) 


	3. The Ace of Spades

Hey, dudes! Sorry the last chapter was so short; I just had no time, what with school starting and all. Trust me, this one is much longer! All you people who like my super-sneaky X-Men cameos in the prologue are going to love this chapter! Plus, if you have any trouble understanding some of the accents within my story, just read those parts aloud. It really helps! ^_^  
  
Chris Bannex: YOU ROCK!!!!!!!!!! I really hope this chapter lives up to your expectations!  
  
Crono101: Will you review my later chapters PLEASE? And write more chapters of "A Gaurdian's Story"! The suspense is killing me!!!  
  
And now, on with the story:  
  
The Ace of Spades Bar and Poker House was very small, about the size of the average New Yorker's living room, and the walls were red and orange, like flames. The air inside was clear as crystal, unlike the smoke-filled joints that most people went to. The lights were dim, and gave the Ace of Spades a warm and pleasant aura. There were only about fifteen people inside, though, including the bartender, who were watching a football game on TV because he had nothing else to do. The rest of the inhabitants were all sitting at a large round table in the corner of the room, poring over a game of Blackjack. It's funny, thought Nuria, that everyone's playing Blackjack in a Poker House. Darn weird, I'll say. She stomped the wet, sticky snow off of her shoes as she was contemplating the oddness of the situation. Her half-brother, who was standing next to her, did the same, on a ratty flowered doormat that said "Have A Groovy Day" on it in faded rainbow-colored lettering.  
  
Even though her father worked at the Ace of Spades, it was Nuria's first time there. Her parents were protective, and had forbid her to go to any bar in New York until she had reached the legal drinking age. She was sixteen, and her brother was fifteen, so she was directly disobeying her parents' orders by letting Alan go inside. Just the thought of her parents' reactions to Nuria's lack of judgment made Nuria's spine tingle. Maybe she should turn back and go home . . .  
  
Nuria shook her head. Alan was a reasonable person; he must have had a good reason to see his stepfather in the middle of his second shift. Maybe something horrible had happened at his high school or something, and he had to talk to his stepfather about it. But why wouldn't he want to talk to Nuria about it?  
  
"Yo!" Alan called out to the people in the corner. "What's up?" He took off his sweatshirt and squeezed out all of the melted snow that had collected itself inside the fabric.  
  
One of the Blackjack players, a muscular man with a gray trench coat, raised a huge gloved hand and took off the large sunglasses he was wearing to reveal catlike yellow eyes. "Oh my stars and garters," he said.  
  
He had a deep, intelligent voice, like a university teacher's, that clashed strangely with his appearance. "Cyke," He said to the bartender, jerking his head towards the two teenagers. "Look who's come to visit." Then he grinned toothily.  
  
Something's wrong with that smile . . Nuria thought nervously. No one's teeth are that pointed . . .  
  
The bartender, a square-jawed man with tousled copper hair, turned away from the football game and stared at Nuria and Alan.  
  
"What are you kids doing in here?" He demanded, as the two teenagers walked over to the bar. "You shouldn't be in a place like this! What'll your parents say when they find out where you are?"  
  
Jeez, thought Alan, zipping off the lower legs of his pants, making them shorts, and squeezing out the denim. We can take care of ourselves, you know.  
  
The yellow-eyed man smirked, and shook his head at the bartender, as if to say, "What am I going to do with you?"  
  
"Look at the girl, Scott." He said. "Doesn't she look familiar to you?  
  
Scott looked Nuria over.  
  
"Yeah . . ." He said slowly. "I think so. . But where from, I wonder?" Then he leaned forward and stared intently at Nuria.  
  
Nuria stiffened. Scott's ruby-red glasses were so thick that she couldn't see his eyes clearly, but there seemed to be light emanating from them, shining through the crystalline material that his glasses were made of. That can't be right, Nuria thought, shivering slightly. I must be seeing things . . .  
  
Finally, Scott leaned back, and quickly adjusted his glasses, which had been slipping slowly down the bridge of his nose.  
  
"You're right, Hank," He said. He grinned, seemingly amused at how slow he had been. "She's John's spitting image."  
  
Everyone else at the Blackjack player's table was watching them now. Alan appeared to be finished squeezing all the water out of his clothing, and was sitting at a nearby table, watching with an impatient expression on his face. Nuria raised her eyebrows.  
  
"You're thinking John Allerdyce, right?" She leaned one arm against the counter. "Well, you're right, I'm his daughter, and I'd like to know where he is."  
  
One of the other blackjack players, a middle-aged woman with long, red hair and a green cotton cardigan, got up, and smiled.  
  
"Come with me," she said, her soft, gentle voice warming Nuria's cold, wet body from head to toe. "I'll show you where he is."  
  
Nuria paused, and slowly nodded. She recognized that woman from somewhere, but she couldn't put her finger on where. Nuria couldn't help but feel comfortable around her, as if she had known her all her life. Nuria beckoned to Alan, and he got up, got his still-wet clothes and followed the redheaded woman to a small door behind the counter. The woman paused next to Scott and gave him a quick peck on the cheek, then led the teenagers out of the Ace of Spades, and as soon as the three of them were out the door, Scott's face turned as red as the woman's hair.  
  
*****************************************  
  
The door led the three of them into another gray alley, but was filled with wooden crates containing various types of alcohol. It was so closed up, it was like a room, and there was barely any walking space. Alan shut the door, then felt it click. Oops, he thought. Bad idea.  
  
The redheaded woman stopped dead in the middle of the alley, and looked around.  
  
"John isn't in here, just so you two know," she said. "He's a block away, helping a trucker unload more crates."  
  
Alan smirked. Well, then, lady, he thought, why did you lead us in here if we were supposed to go over there? The door's locked now, so we're trapped in a room of boxes, for god's sake!  
  
Then Nuria and Alan felt a strange presence pass through their minds, like a warm glow. A picture of a bird came into their minds, a bird whose feathers were made of fire. The redheaded woman opened her eyes, and the presence disappeared, back into the oblivion from whence it came. The woman's hair, which had been tied up in a tight ponytail, seemed to have frizzed out a little when her eyes were closed.  
  
"We're not trapped," The redheaded woman said, as if replying to Alan's thoughts. "I can get us out of here. And also, please don't call me 'Lady'. My name is Jean Grey. And now, I'll show you how we're getting out." 


	4. Discoveries

Hey guys, I'm back! I don't really have much to say today, except that it's not good to flame people's stories, because it really hurts people's feelings. I, being extraordinarily naïve, just recently found this out. Therefore, I have resolved to never flame anyone again. I may be a little harsh sometimes in the future, but I will not be rude only for revenge.  
  
Crono101: Why do you comment on my chapter length when they are longer than your chapters? This one's a little longer, though. Hope you like it! ^_^  
  
So, here's Chapter 4:  
  
Jean removed her hair tie from her hair, and it flowed out, and frizzed out, as if being blown by wind, but the air was still. She reached an open hand out towards one of the walls of boxes, and furrowed her brow in concentration. A purple beam of light, no, not light, energy, shot from her outstretched hand, giving the cold alley a warm glow. The beam surrounded the box wall to their right, lifted all of the crates into the air, and set them gently next to Jean. Then the energy beam disappeared in a flash of white light, and the alley returned to its dingy self. Jean turned around, considerably cheerier, and grinned at Nuria and Alan as if to say, "I love doing that!"  
  
"There you go," she said, beckoning to the door. "Shall we?"  
  
Alan was stunned, realizing that the force that had passed through his mind earlier had come from the Jean. Alan had recognized that warm glow feeling; the redheaded woman had read his mind. She was a mutant, and a powerful one, too. But that bird . . What was that? He recognized it from somewhere . . .  
  
Nuria saw the image as well. Her mother had told her about a bird like that when she was young, that it symbolized a super-powerful entity that truly existed in the form of a woman . . .  
  
"Phoenix!" She gasped.  
  
Jean didn't hear her. She was already out of the crate enclosure. Nuria followed her, with a gut feeling that she would soon regret that she had.  
  
*****************************************  
  
In the middle of an alley near Main Street, there was a large truck, and two people next to it. They were unloading the main body of the truck, and all the while having friendly conversation. The resounding crack of wood against concrete rang out in the thin, cold air, as a crate full of fine wine fell to the snow-covered gravel, and the man who threw it, a tall, skinny man with traffic-light-red hair, wiped his brow.  
  
"You know, Logan," he gasped, unzipping his thick fleece vest. "This really wasn't in my job interview."  
  
The other man, small, heavily muscular, and very hairy, adjusted his trucker hat so it was facing the wrong way, picked up another crate, and gave the skinny man a crooked grin.  
  
"You know, bub," he replied, his voice rough and feral. "Yer just as spineless as you were the day we met." He walked over to the stack he and the other man had made, and dropped the crate, causing another resounding crack. "C'mon, Johnny boy, keep workin'! I don' have all day!"  
  
John sighed, and walked back to the truck to get another load. He really hated his job, but it was the only place that he could find work. He had worked in the New York Fire Department, and was the best they had ever had. But after Kelly's War, a year-long massacre started by the senator of the same name, John and his best friend Bobby got fired, his boss fearing for his safety. And the job options list for mutants kept getting smaller and smaller. The only job he could get after that was his current job, bartender, card dealer and errand-runner at the Ace of Spades. Not a high paying job, naturally. It was a good thing his wife Maria wasn't a mutant, because if she had been, John could never have afforded to keep custody of his daughter, Nuria, let alone his stepson Alan. But John wasn't complaining. At least he had a roof over his head.  
  
Logan started to pick up a box, then stopped. He sniffed the air. There were people nearby, he could smell them, and not all of them were familiar. Ah well, he thought, I've never turned down a good brawl in my life, and I'm not gonna start now.  
  
He sniffed the air again. Oops, false alarm. He turned around, and his vocal tone became friendly. "'Lo, Jeannie," He said. "You look awful tense. What's up?"  
  
John turned around as well, and saw Jean Grey, who worked at the Ace of Spades as well, and . . . His children! There they were, Alan, scruffy and unkempt as always, and Nuria, looking at John like a deer in the road looks at a car coming towards it.  
  
Jean shrugged. She sensed some more people - Mutants - that she couldn't see. And they were hostile. And very powerful. But she wasn't going to tell all that to Logan. She didn't want to make him nervous.  
  
"Oh, it's nothing," She replied, fiddling with her hair. "I guess working all day does that to you."  
  
Logan grinned a lopsided grin at Jean and looked at the two teenagers. At Logan's glance, the girl with John's hair color gave a small gasp and turned away, while the boy raised an eyebrow and wrinkled his nose in disgust. Logan wasn't surprised, nor was he offended. Those types of looks had come his way more than once in his life, and he had, by now, learned to ignore them.  
  
"Who're the kids?" Logan asked.  
  
The girl, who was considerably scared now, cleared her throat, and pointed at John. She then grabbed her brother's arm and her father's t-shirt, and dragged them back into the crate enclosure. No one said anything after that, they just kept working.  
  
*****************************************  
  
Man, that hairy guy scared the heck out of me, Nuria thought, panting heavily. John looked at the teenagers in astonishment.  
  
"What are you two DOING here?" He asked angrily. "I thought I made it clear to you two that I do not want you visiting me during work!"  
  
Alan stepped closer to John. "It wasn't her idea," he said. "I had to tell you . . ." He paused, and looked away. " . . . I'm a mutant."  
  
Nuria automatically took a step back, and regretted the action instantly. Alan had on a deer-in-the-headlights expression on his face almost identical to Nuria's, as if being a mutant made him public enemy number one. John said nothing, only stared blankly into space, his hand gripping something in his pocket. His mouth was tight, like there was something in his throat that he couldn't swallow.  
  
"When did you find out?" John asked softly.  
  
"Yesterday," Alan replied. He bit his lip. "I was getting - bullied at school, and I . . . Well, I - uh- pulled a gun on them." Alan opened his hand, and a six-shooter appeared in it, first unclear, like a fog, then . "But it's not REAL, of course," Alan continued quickly. He gripped the gun and literally ran it through his other hand, leaving absolutely no marks. "It's just an illusion, so it didn't harm them."  
  
John stuffed his hands in his pockets and murmured something incoherent. Then there was an uncomfortable silence, and Nuria felt that that was a good time to take her leave.  
  
"I, uh, should go now," she said, turning the color of her hair. "I'm, um, late for choir practice.  
  
And with that, she ran away, away from her family, the strange people who worked at the bar, and all the shocks of the past few minutes.  
  
*****************************************  
  
Nuria stopped three blocks later, and leaned against an alley wall for support. Her conversation with her father seemed like a dream now, a dream that she was trying hard not to believe. Especially that her brother was a mutant! Considering the events of Kelly's War, the news was horrifying. She worried for her brother. Could he keep his powers a secret? If not, could he survive in a world like this?  
  
Nuria heard footsteps behind her.  
  
"What the heck are you doing here?" said a voice next to her. Nuria felt a fist nudge her shoulder. She turned around to see the boy she had expected to see: Alan. "Come on," he continued. "It's no big deal. I can hide it."  
  
Nuria bit her lip.  
  
But can you, Alan?  
  
"Alan . . ." She said softly. "I don't want you to turn out - like Dad."  
  
"Oh, come ON, Nuri!" Alan laughed, as if the thought had never crossed his mind. "There's no way that'll happen. No one will ever know what I am."  
  
Nuria sighed.  
  
I guess right now it doesn't matter.  
  
She decided to give in to his obvious attempt to cheer her up. She grinned widely, and threw her arms around him. "Thank you!" She said.  
  
Then they heard voices from behind them. 


	5. Lucas, Summoner of the Elements

Hello again! Sorry I took so INCREDIBLY long with this chapter, it's been way too busy lately. (damn essays.) Thank you so much for all of your reviews, and yes, Sprinket and Crono101, I will try to make the chapters longer from now on. Sorry about the misunderstanding, Sprinket, but Crono told me that you hadn't read my story, and I guess he was either lying or someone lied to him. Thank you, and on with the show.  
  
I wonder who that is. Nuria asked herself. As soon as she thought that, she saw a flash of light, and heard a huge explosion from the same place the voices came from. Alan jumped, and his eyes widened.  
  
"What in the hell just happened?" He whispered.  
  
Nuria shrugged, and they walked quickly towards the voices. Alan pressed himself against the alley wall, and peeked around the corner.  
  
Two teenagers of about Nuria's age were standing a few feet from one another and seemed to be having a fight. One of them, a boy wearing a hooded black sweatshirt so his face wasn't visible, was standing calmly with his arm outstretched towards a large, smoking hole in the ground. The other, a girl with long black hair and a long leather overcoat, was standing pressed against the wall out of pure shock.  
  
"What are you DOING, Lucas?" She cried. "I've never done anything to hurt you! I'm not your enemy! What's going on?"  
  
"That's a lot of questions." Lucas cracked his knuckles. "I'm afraid I can't answer many of them. I think you know the answer to the first, though. I've come to kill you."  
  
Alan stared at Lucas, mystified. So much was familiar about him, from his attitude, to his body shape, to his voice...  
  
"But why, Lucas?" the girl asked. She was slowly regaining her cool, and separated her body from the wall. "We were friends.. We ARE friends. or, at least, I thought we were, until now."  
  
If Lucas' face was visible, he would have most likely been smirking.  
  
"We were never friends," He said. "And we never will be. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have work to do."  
  
He lowered his head in concentration, and Alan's hair stood on end. The girl bit her lip, then narrowed her eyes, and walked towards Lucas with a determined expression.  
  
"You aren't Lucas." She said loudly, walking towards him, faster and faster, until what was now a black blur tackled the hooded boy and slammed him against the wall.  
  
"Where's Lucas, you son of a bitch?" She demanded fiercely. "What have you done with him? Tell me right now, or your head will be slammed through this wall before you can even beg for mercy!"  
  
The hooded boy, who was apparently still concentrating, pushed the girl off him with ease, then reached up to the sky. The static electricity was still building through the air. Then the same light Nuria had seen earlier flashed through the alley, and the exploding sound pulsed through her eardrums. Nuria didn't wait to see if it had hit. She blindly ran back to the Ace of Spades, hoping that Jean Grey could prevent this destructive battle from continuing. She had a sense that if she couldn't stop that fight, the entire alley, and maybe even the Ace of Spades, would be destroyed.  
  
*****************************************  
  
Alan was astonished by what had just happened. A kid his age, summoning lightning out of the sky! He suddenly felt stupid for thinking he was one of the only mutant kids in the city. But looking at that girl laying on the ground, nearly dead, caused a sudden anger to pulse through him. She was still alive, he could feel it! But not for long. If Lucas decided to strike again, there wasn't any hope for her. Alan wondered if there was anything he could do for her.  
  
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps behind him, running in the opposite direction. He knew immediately who the footsteps belonged to. It figures, he thought. Nuria's always been the wimp of the family, and I've been the brave one. It doesn't matter that she's gone, though. I can take that guy on myself.  
  
Alan smirked, overconfident. It wouldn't be too hard to knock him out, with his power over illusions. All he had to do was make him think he was in some kind of open area, and have some wild animal chase him in the direction of what's really a wall, so he'd knock himself out unintentionally! Immediately, he walked over to Lucas, pointed at him, and concentrated on a desert.  
  
Lucas whirled around, apparently surprised. Alan could tell he was falling for it. Then he thought a moment, without stopping the illusion: What kind of animal do we all fear to meet in a desert? Scorpions, poisonous lizards, cobras. Cobras!  
  
Quickly, Alan visualized, coming out of the sand, a huge cobra, who bared his fangs and hissed. Lucas stared at the place where Alan had put the "Cobra", right in front of the alley wall, and backed away a few steps. Alan smiled, and continued his plan. He visualized the cobra charging Lucas, mouth fiercely agape.  
  
But there was where his plan went wrong.  
  
Lucas raised his arm to the heavens and the sky darkened once again. Alan's stomach gave a lurch as he realized what was coming. There was a blinding flash of light and a cracking noise so loud that it was like the ground was splitting, and Alan saw a large section of one wall of the alley, the one he had picked the "Cobra" to be in, slowly crumble to the ground. Alan groaned, and coughed, as clouds of dust whirled through the air. Looking at the piles of rubble on the ground, he thought to himself, Is this my fault? Or is this his?  
  
And he realized that he had stopped concentrating. 


	6. Nuria's Lighter

Hello again! I am SO SORRY that I took so much time between chapters! To be honest, I just forgot about Fanfiction for a long time, and I sincerely apologize to my fans (if I have any anymore... --) for having to make them wait so long.  
  
Thank you for all the good things you said about chapter 5! Let's just say I had a lot of fun writing it...  
  
Xcoolcomic: Sorry about the confusion! Banshee survives. I might even add a cameo to suit your Banshee needs, but I'm not quite sure yet...  
  
So, on with the show:  
  
Lucas took a step back. His surroundings were changing drastically around him - a hot desert turning into a cold, snowy city, with clouds of dust surrounding him. Silence rang through the air as he looked around at the completely wrecked alley and realized what he had done. The silence was so deep he could have heard a pin drop, that is, if someone were to have dropped one.  
  
Alan's blood ran cold. His plan had failed.  
  
I'm going to die, he thought. That Lucas guy's gonna kill me!  
  
He almost panicked, but something stopped him. Maybe it was the fear of becoming as wimpy as his sister; maybe it was seeing the black-haired girl on the ground and knowing that she needed a doctor, maybe none of those things. All that he knew was that he had to stay. But what was he going to do? Cower in a corner and hope that Lucas would just pass him by? No. He would stand up and show that hooded bastard whose boss.  
  
He formed an illusionary rocket launcher in his hand, and jumped out from the corner.  
  
"Hey, you!" He shouted. "Put your hands where I can see 'em!"  
  
Lucas turned and stared at him, but kept his hands where they were.  
  
"And what good would that do you -" He answered coolly. "- Illusionist?"  
  
Alan felt his hair stand on end. Static was building in the air. Why the hell did I do that? He thought. I should have just stayed in one place! Now what am I going to do?  
  
The sky darkened once more, and Alan prepared to dodge. It was all he could do. And no matter how little a chance of survival there was, he was still going to try.  
  
And he did try. Just as the flash of light surrounded him, he threw himself forward onto the ground, skidding through the snow and ash until he felt his shoulders touch a wall. He had done it! He was alive! For one joyous moment, he thought it was over. But it wasn't.  
  
The smoke was starting to clear, and Alan could now see Lucas's vague outline through what was left of it.  
  
He's gonna try again! He thought. Now what?  
  
The only think his terrified mind could think to do was lie there and pray that he wouldn't die. In other words, play dead.  
  
The smoke's final wisps left the alley. Alan heard footsteps coming towards him. Slow, unhurried footsteps. He felt his face grow hot. Beads of sweat trickled down his forehead down to his nose. He almost opened his eyes, but quickly shut them tight.  
  
Then the footsteps slowed. Then they stopped.  
  
And he heard voices.  
  
"Oh my god, Alan! What did you do to Alan?"  
  
All Nuria could focus on was Alan's lifeless body on the ground. Was he all right? Or were her fears true? She ran to him to check, but was stopped by Jean behind her.  
  
"Allow me." She murmured, and walked to him. Then she looked at the man in the hood. "Did you do this?" she asked.  
  
The hooded man said nothing, but backed slowly away.  
  
"Recognize me, do you?" she said, turning away from Alan (who breathed a sigh of relief). "Recognize the great Phoenix?"  
  
Jean's body started to glow purple as she walked to the hooded figure.  
  
"You have killed a good person, little man," she continued, as the purple glow began to form a shape around her. It looked a little like a bird. "And I swear by all I hold dear -"  
  
She jumped up into the air and hovered there. There was no doubt now that Jean's aura was in the shape of her namesake - the Phoenix. Her eyes widened and she clenched her fists.  
  
"- You never will again!!!"  
  
Jean thrust her arms towards the hooded figure, and her aura began to surround him. All the hooded figure did in response was touch his hand to his temple. And as soon as the aura had covered his entire body-  
  
It disappeared. Jean cried out in confusion as her psychic aura began to fade away. The hooded figure snickered.  
  
"Psionic shield, Jean," he said, most likely smirking under his hood. "I thought you would have expected that. And don't call me 'Little Man'..."  
  
He raised his hand to the sky again. Static electricity began building in the air.  
  
"... My name is Lucas."  
  
The lightning bolt came crashing down, and was about to hit the ground in front of Nuria, when it stopped. The bolt started to thrash like a caged animal, and Lucas dug his feet into the ground and opened his hands, beckoning to it. It rushed to him, forming a ball in front of his hand. Lucas then jumped up into the air, and threw the ball down onto Jean.  
  
Jean was apparently expecting that, for she stretched her arm out as if to catch it. She did. It stopped in front of her palm, and with a quick clench of her other fist, it disappeared. A vein throbbed at her temple.  
  
Lucas and Jean continued to fight like this for some time. Throughout that whole time, Nuria had been staring at Alan's body. Her brother had been killed. Her only brother, killed by a hooded killer in an alley. If only I could help Jean, she thought. But I would only hinder her. I'm not a fighter, my muscles aren't very strong - plus, Lucas is a mutant. I wish I could fight...I wish I could avenge Alan's death...  
  
Suddenly, Nuria was aware of something hard in her pocket. Quickly, she pulled it out. It was her dad's cigarette lighter. It felt cool in her hands, and she ran her cold fingers over the shark design embedded into the metal. She found comfort in it somehow, but she couldn't think of how.  
  
Nuria looked up at the fight, and with a quick flick, the lighter was open. She stared into the flame, and somehow it made her anger at Lucas burn stronger than ever, like gasoline to a flame. She felt her face flush. I wish I could kill that bastard! she thought furiously. I wish I could make him suffer - Make him pay for what he's done. Make him burn like the flame in this lighter...  
  
As Nuria thought this, the flame grew steadily larger, and before she knew what she was doing, she shouted -  
  
"BURN IN HELL, LUCAS!"  
  
The air suddenly increased in temperature, and then Lucas was in flames. The flame from John Allerdyce's lighter had hit Lucas' shirt sleeve, and increased up to his shoulder at a speed that felt far quicker then it should have. He furiously tried to get his coat off, cursing with gritted teeth all the while. As soon as the sleeve started to come off, Lucas grabbed the bottom of the cloak and tugged. It came off, and as soon as his hood came down, he had covered his face with the flaming mass and sprinted off. He dropped his cloak as soon as he had rounded the corner, and then he was gone. No one followed him. 


End file.
